Ashburton School.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6482, 27 February 1889, Page 4

Ashburton School.

'■ ■ • ■ » . -. ■ •■•■ " ■'■ MEETING OP HOUSEHOLDERS. It will be remembered that some time ago eiz members of the Ashburton School Committee resigned, dissatisfied with the action of the North Canterbury. Education Board in insisting on requirinjj "the resig-. nation of the head-master, whose -work was perfectly satisfactory to the Committee, who believed, notwithstanding an adverse report, that they had in the bend-master a most efficient teacher. The Board accepted the members' resignation, and, on Monday night, a meeting was held in the school to elect gentlemen to the vacancies. There were about seventy householders present, j and Mr Gideon Scott, Chairman of the existing Committee, was called to the chair. The Chairman read the Board's advertisement calling the meeting and stating j the object of it, and afterwards read a ; report covering the business done by the ! Committee during their nine months of I office. He also read out the names of the I Committeemen who had resigned as a pro- '[ test against the Board's action. These were ! Messrs Gideon Scott (Chairman), E.J.Paul, B. Elston, A. Cook, W. T. Kingston, and J. E. Steele. He then asked for nominations for the vacancies. To this invitation the following names were put up:— Messrs Gideon Scott. J. MacLean Dunn, W. J. Silcock, E. Elston, A. Cook, E. J. Paul, F. Bonnington, J. R. Steele, J. Meddings, D. M'Pariane. and J. W. Baker. Dr Tweed said the election was held to support or otherwise the action of the Committee, who had resigned because they objected to losing the services of the headmaster. He would like to have the candidates who were not members of the old Committee give expression to their opinions on the matter. Mr Donald Williamson took exception to what Dr Tweed had Baid. So far as the heaxUmaster was concerned the Committee was done with him and the householders also, as his resignation was in the hands of the Board. i The Chairman said the statement of Mr Williamson was scarcely correct. The head-master's resignation was in the hands of the Committee, but not in the hands of the Board, and he (the Chairman) had asked the head-master to defer sending his resignation to the Board until after the election of a new Committee. To Mr Williamson's question as to whether the whole matter was to be fought out again, the Chairman replied in the affirmative. :•,;:-.. Mr Moss was of opinion that the meeting of the householders, had been called simply to express by their votes an opinion — no more. The old Committee had re- ; signed because they believed the headmaster had been ill-treated, and that his unjust removal would endanger the ' efficiency of the school. The Bchool had a fanny history, and there had been queer > things done in the past about head--1 masters, some of whom had been elbowed out of their place by people actuated by petty private feeling. He hoped that sort 1 of thin g was now all past, but he contended that the jurisdiction of the Board was too large, and that instead of a body of men who knew nothing at all about the circumstances of a school district sitting in judgment upon it fifty miles away, there ought to be a Board for each County. One of the best masters in the Colony had had charge of the Ashburton School, but he had been elbowed out of his position. That gentleman was now teaching alarge school in another Province with signal success. An effort was now being made to displace the present head-master, as able a teacher as they ever had. This effort he trusted would not be successful, and ha would -vote for every man of the old Committee. After Dr Tweed's proposal' to hear the ».ew_ candidates had been adopted, the Chairman asked them to speak. Mr MacLean Dunn would give his notions about matters in two words. He believed the present head-master to be the best man they had ever had in that school, and he would be glad to do whatever lay in his power, in reason, to retain his services. They had to look beyond that, however, and to face the possible . contingency of not being able to retain mm. In that event the speaker believed he could fender some service in the selection of a successor, as he knew something of the teachers of the Province. Mr Silcock had allowed himself .to be nominated as a protest against the Committee's action, which Vaa somewhat childish . It was no use contending against the Board, and the matter of the master was no longer in the hands of the Committee. He had nothing against the master personally. He was a good teacher; his pupils were well grounded indeed, but they failed in getting paeses, and if they did bo, all the teaching they got was useless. . Messrs Bonnington, Meddings, Baker, and M'Farlane all spoke in high terms of ' the head-master. Mr Paul replying to Mr Silcock's remarks said he was not on the Committee at the time, but he understood that the j report given by the Inspectors was totally at variance with the opinions expressed by them verbally to several members of j the Committee after the inspection was \ over. The Committee were personally aware that the children were not being crammed up to inspection and "pass " point, but honeßtly and intelligently 1 taught, and they knew that there was a great improvement; in the school's dieeiI pline. Mr Silcock himself allowed that the j children were well grounded hi their knowi ledge. Twice the Committee had passed j a resolution by six to one in favour of ! retaining the head-master, the second time after the Board had declined to reconsider j their decision. The Committee came to the conclusion they did, after honestly ! thinking the matter out, and they were only I consistent when they decided to resign, not j childish as Mr Silcock put it. Thechfldishness would have come in if they had given j -way, seeing that they had a firm opinion i that a change in the liead-masterehip would I throw the school back a good twelve I months. Mr Silcock was still of opinion that the head-master affair was settled, and that he could not be retained. The Chairman thought he could, and the matter would be taken to a higher [ authority than the Board of, Education. i Mr Craighead was the member who hod j not resigned. When the present master j came the first examination was a bad one, I and the blame was laid upon the previous i mismanagement of the school. The Board ! gave the master six months to pick up the ! position, and under this spur the master i got good reports at the next two inspec- , tions. When the pressure was taken off a ! j bad report followed. It was usual to | i dismiss a workman who . did not j I give satisfaction. Then the neighbouring i school of Hampstead was full to crowding, j and withpupila who had gone there from . the Ashburton school, where there was ■ j room for about a hundred more than were ! J attending. ' \ Mr Bissett wished to explain why he and i others had sent their children to theHaup- > stead school. He did not want them, to be I taught by an indefinite number of masters, j and as Ashburton school had a bad name i for frequent changes in the teaching staff, } \ he had t-ent Ms children to a place that had i the credit of being a little more stable in 1 the staff's tenure of office. I Messrs Moss and Braddell having been appointed scrutineers, the voting was taken with the following result :— W. J. Silcock ... ... ... 57 Gideon Scott ... 42J. Meddings ... ... ... 38 E. Elston ... ... ... 33 «l. MacLean Dunn ... ... 32 . ' E.J. Paul ... ... ... 30 The other candidates polled from '2s (down to 14. j The Chairman having declared the-aboye six gentlemen elected, a vote of thanks was passed to him, and the proceedings terminated. At a meeting of the new Committee, ! held after the householders' meeting, Mr I Gideon Scott was unanimously elected I Chairman, and Messra Alfred Saunders, Parker Westenra, and Wynn-Williams received the Committee's vote for the